On This Is the Way the Report Came In: I Ain’t Touchin’ a Thing
By george wesley dannells on Apr 27, 2008 in Baha'i Views
= {Photo: washington heights Uploaded on July 23, 2006 by Susan NYC on flickr, Creative Commons}
The afternoon began almost =ortuitously with the group being serenaded on the A-train by a young man who sung a spiritual as =hough he had God in his heart. When we reached our stop, we broke into two groups =nd headed into two separate buildings to teach. After a while, we =econvened whereas we encountered several young men in their late teens shooting a basketball hoop set up on the street. Seizing the opportunity, we =roceeded to teach the Faith to these young men (while all along shooting hoops with =hem!). Despite their personal distractions (i.e. stopping to peddle narcotics) =heir longing to hear the message of God didn’t waver; in fact, one of the =en declared his faith in Baha’u'llah.
After around 30 minutes, we =eft this group and proceeded up the street. Two blocks later, we encountered three men =itting on a stoop and decided to give them the message. One of the men left after a =ew minutes and a second followed him a short while later, but the third was =ntent on hearing Anna’s Presentation in its entirety. Although he did not =ign a declaration card, he asked for all our numbers and requested a return =isit. After we had each given our telephone numbers, he embraced each of us =nd said to the group, “I love you”.
If as if that weren’t enough blessings for one day, even more were =o come. We boarded a train to go back to the Baha’i Center and with the utmost =f joy and gratitude in our hearts began to sing. Well, for whatever reason, folks =n the train, normally repulsed by such distractions, moved to seats closer to =here we were and joined us in the singing. One middle-aged African-American man =ecame an impromptu “choir director” and led everyone in the car =inging the chorus “and we will lead each other =igher and higher”. It was a moment that could only happen in New York.
+Uploaded on December 10, 2005
by eden elizabeth on flickr Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic
